Hi everyone! About a month ago I bought a nice, high mileage Volvo 240dl wagon. I've always wanted one of these and this one just popped up at the right time and price. An older couple owned it and had it serviced regularly at the same mechanic that I have used for years. The mileage is 330k. Everything is in good working order except for the heated seats and the cruise control. Also the driver's seat is split in a few places. I've found some seat covers on eBay but the color appears to be a bit darker than what is in the car now. My wagon has blue vinyl seats. Does anyone here have experience with these replacement seat covers? Also I have periodic back problems and would like to fix the seat heaters as well. The cruise control doesn't bother me unless it's a super easy fix. I have been lurking here for a bit and there is quite a deep level of knowledge here so I look forward to reading any responses. I bought the car as a runabout and have been very pleased with it. I live in Gulf Shores, Al and this has become our family's beach wagon and hauler of many things. I love this car!

I'd also like to know a little more about a Chevy small block conversion for some time in the future. My research on the interwebs hasn't shown me much other than two books I'll need from jagsthatrun and that I'll have trouble finding motor mounts for the conversion. Can anyone here point me in the right direction for more info on this subject? It looks to me like maybe I should look for a 740 to convert as this appears to have more support and parts availability.

 

Since you have back pain, first thing to fix/check is the lumbar support. Mine is broken and about 10 of them in a row at the junkyard were also broken. I plan to buy the lumbar repair kit from IPD for $45. I suggest you also start there.

My cruise control is also still busted. I have to diagnose it still. Haven't gotten back around to it. First thing to check is for proper switch engagement down at the brake pedal and clutch pedal if you have one. After that, common point of failure is the stalk. That would require a multimeter to check. I have completely given up on teaching people how to use a multimeter on this forum, so you are on your own there.

I finally found a fresh seat at the junkyard for my 240. Took a while, but found a redone seat in blue vinyl. $50. Now I need to put another $50 into lumbar fix.

 

Hi. Thanks for the reply! Sorry I forgot to mention that the car is an automatic. I would prefer something with three pedals and a stick, but beggars, choosers, and all that stuff. I have a multimeter and know how to use it, so rest easy there! The lumbar support is functional. The car was well loved, luckily. I also forgot to mention that I have a small power steering leak. I haven't looked into it, but I've added fluid once and I suspect a low pressure hose.

 

I've not seen much on small block Chevy transplants but there was a shop called Converse Engineering which marketed kits to drop a Ford 5.0 into any RWD Volvo (I actually saw a V8 Ford 740 owned by Paul Newman at Volvo of Westport a few years back... had the techs agog! ). Try some searches on Converse / Ford to Volvo to see some blogs on what people have done. Most of the swaps used manuals using the Ford tranny otherwise you may need to find or manufacture an adaptor plate (not a big market there..) I think you'd need to use the Ford tranny but plenty of machine shops can custom build a drive shaft for you. If you decide to do it, post up as that would be blog-worthy! Regarding the seats, Have you considered upgrades to seats from newer Volvos? Not sure the tracks match up but I can tell you the seats in my 850 were 10x more comfortable than my mom's old 240DL...

 

Hi and thanks for the reply. I haven't really looked into swapping other seats in. I'd have to check and see that they still made them in the blue vinyl as I want to keep a stock appearance on the car as much as possible.
My roof is clean of any holes or roof racks which is nice on one hand, but I could really use a good roof rack. I just don't want to have to drill holes into my pretty roof. Does anyone know of any roof rack options that don't involve drilling?
Thanks for the info and replies. A ford 302 conversion would be cool too(maybe get one that's got a supercharger on it) and I would switch to a ford transmission if I went that way. I just think the car would be a ton of fun if it were to have a lot more power. I'd also keep a stock appearance after the conversion and hope to retain my air conditioner.

 

The ebay reproductions are good seat covers. They don't match 100% but they will be fine. They will actually be lighter in color. The color of the blue vinyl varied through out the years on 240's. I actually have a set of blue vinyl seats(great condition) for sale but no takers yet so if you ever in Dallas,TX. If you plan on a V8 conversion, you better sign up at turbobricks.com. This is more of a rwd-oriented forum, although many members do own fwd Volvo's. There is a wealth of info on V8 Volvo's. Another option is to turbo your brick which in the long run is cheaper and definitely more straight forward. At that point you would want to swap in a world class t5 manual transmission as well. There are many suppliers for adapter plates for the transmission. If you are serious about a V8 conversion, the best option would be to buy a foxbody V8 5.0 mustang 1987-1993 with a WC T5 transmission, preferably running and you will have the majority of the parts you will need. You can find a decent running example from 2000-4000. Sell the parts you don't need to re-coup some cost. When you get down to it, a V8 conversion may not be what you want because of the cost. I have very limited info on keeping the ac system. Many guys delete the ac system altogether.

 

yakima or thule racks fit great on 240/740/940's, as they have very sturdy rain gutters. you can carry about 150 lbs on the roof these cars.